A Song for Samwise
by Eariwen
Summary: A Scottish ballad rhyme, meter, and stanza scheme based on an early Scottish ballad we read for class for Samwise Gamgee, written for a British Literature class, that serenade's Sam's bravery and loyalty. It is moviebased.
1. Ballad

_Okay, so here's a Scottish ballad that I wrote for British Literature. It was written for the character of Sam in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. I always liked Sam; I think he's the unsung hero, because if not for him, Frodo would never have gotten to Mount Doom. This was also one of those "group projects" that ended up being a "one man show." I love being one of the brighter ones in class /rolls eyes._

_By the way, I _love _reviews, so if you do read, please click the pretty little blue button at the bottom of the screen and let me know what you think--good, bad, or otherwise. Also, just as a little note, I can't get FFN to put double-spaces in between each stanza and the refrain, so I apologize that it makes it more difficult to read!_

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**A Song for Samwise**

A wonderful, simple life you lead

Of happiness, hard work, food, and mead.

You welcome guests with open arms

And never imagined doing your neighbor harm.

Your day is filled with fun and joy

Despair to you is just a ploy.

Everything you need is inside the Shire

Your safety, you're sure, will never expire.

To you, life is a well-known scheme

You live, you die, with familiarity in between.

Being caught up in an adventure, you sometimes hear of in storybooks

But for the most part, you'd rather stay in your safe little nook.

Your dreams are made of nothing more

Than to work, eat, marry, and though it may seem a bore

To others who do not understand your ways

You would prefer to plan every detail of your days.

So keep your joyous world in your heart

For an unforeseen journey is about to start

Be strong and help your master through

And you may come safely to the end, too.

Your loyalty is steadfast, your heart is true

Far shall your journey carry you.

Though little is hope, do not despair

For ill may not befall the task in your care.

Now you've been swept away

By a quest whose end may be many days

But faithfully you march on

Following your master's footsteps ever and anon.

Keep your feelings locked deep inside

And though you travel far and wide

For the sake of what you love, you must stay strong.

The most difficult part of the journey has yet to come

So close your eyes now and rest with serenity

Let your mind wander far from where your body be.

Recall the parties, songs, and simple pleasures

Memories to forevermore treasure

For though, now, the task appears slight

It will stay with you the rest of your life.

Even when you are old and grey

You will recall this mission every day.

But you do not know this, you cannot understand

As you journey far from your homeland

But know, that with this one step you take

You will destroy a life that you can never remake.

Your loyalty is steadfast, your heart is true

Far shall your journey carry you.

Though little is hope, do not despair

For ill may not befall the task in your care.

You have now seen what you've always longed for—

A band of wood-elves straight out of lore

Their song brings you sadness, you do not know why

But, somehow, they've brought a tear to your eye.

"They're going to the harbor, beyond the white towers."

Frodo tells you, bitterness in his words, as though his mouth was sour.

But you must now press on, no time to delay

You must reach Bree, where Gandalf said you should stay

There you meet a man called Strider

Onward he leads, the task not getting any lighter.

As danger draws near, you bravely defend

Your master, though he is hurt in the end.

A wicked blade in the hands of the damned

Is yet driven off by the skill of the man.

Who has led your companions safely so far

You now must reach Rivendell to tend the new scar.

Then Frodo is sent with and Elf-Woman away

But you and the others are meant to stay

Do not despair, you shall soon see your master

Snatched from the jaws of impending disaster.

Your loyalty is steadfast, your heart is true

Far shall your journey carry you.

Though little is hope, do not despair

For ill may not befall the task in your care.

Now in Rivendell, you can rest

And determine what is best

You are told that the Ring must be destroyed

In the fires of Mordor, the land without joy.

A Fellowship of nine is appointed to this task

Frodo decides to carry the Ring without being asked.

Other than you, seven more shall aid the quest

And the Fellowship will not, for many months, rest.

An Elf, tall, graceful, and willowy-thin,

A Dwarf. Stout, and hearty, with a beard on his chin,

Strider, of course, offers his protection

And another man named Boromir offers his direction.

The wizard, Gandalf, of course volunteers

And Merry and Pippin, two of your peers

Will follow Frodo to the edge of the earth

As will you, for all that you're worth.

And again you set off with little delay

Walking miles upon miles day by day

And though you may face many dangers

The Fellowship is strengthened, no longer strangers.

Your loyalty is steadfast, your heart is true

Far shall your journey carry you.

Though little is hope, do not despair

For ill may not befall the task in your care.

Now, Gandalf has fallen, the Fellowship mourns

Something within your heart feels torn

But again, you must flee from the terrors of dark

To an enchanted wood of golden-leaved trees with silver bark

There you find an Elvish city full of magic

And though recent events have been tragic

You are filled with wonder at the sight

But now you must leave after many restful nights

The river carries you swiftly away

And you can feel the Fellowship beginning to sway

Tempted by the Ring's siren-call

Boromir is changing the most of all

He tries to take the ring from your master

And after this follows a disaster.

An ambush by thousands of demons of war

But you follow Frodo to the river's shore

And insist that you will follow him to the end

Wherever his quest may twist or bend

But as you leave your comrades behind

Recall how they helped you time after time.

Your loyalty is steadfast, your heart is true

Far shall your journey carry you.

Though little is hope, do not despair

For ill may not befall the task in your care.

Now you and Frodo are alone once more

Upon the very threshold to hellish Mordor

A new guide appears to show you the way

Though your feelings tell you he may lead you astray

He leads you through the marshes of death

The stench is enough to take away your breath

But the silence is worse and a dark terror waits

To retake the Ring at Mordor's black gates

But the way is shut, you must come by another road

That may yet be treacherous, your feelings forebode

But another obstacle appears in your path

Men of Gondor, who are full of wrath

They threaten you and try to take the Ring

But you warn them of the destruction it will bring

Eventually, you are released to continue your journey

Which, it seems, will take an eternity.

As you watch the days go down in the West

You wonder if you will ever find your rest.

Through many more trials you still must come

Before your mission will be done.

Your loyalty is steadfast, your heart is true

Far shall your journey carry you.

Though little is hope, do not despair

For ill may not befall the task in your care.

You've finally reached your destination

On the way, seeing much pain and desecration

The journey was trying and perilous

And now you're eager to be rid of this treacherousness

You've gotten him this far, hell and back

Because, in him is something you lack

Although you're filled with devotion and caring

More is needed to withstand the beckon of the Ring

You watch as he is standing out there, all alone

And then he hesitates, the Ring not thrown.

You're filled with confusion and dread

When you realize he's not going to destroy it, but, instead

Take it and keep it for his very own

"My precious," he calls it, and through his eyes the spell is sown

He slips it on his finger just as Gollum barges through

A great struggle is taking place, the battle of the bewitched ensues.

Gollom emerges victorious with the ring as well as the finger worn on

Frodo retaliates, and throws himself at him, both all the sudden

In shock you peer into this great precipice

Learning Frodo's still hanging on and the Ring is destroyed in the fiery pits.

Your loyalty is steadfast, your heart is true

Far shall your journey carry you.

Though little is hope, do not despair

For ill may not befall the task in your care.

Now, at last, your task is done

And you learn that the side of good has won

You can, at last, rest your weary mind

And have time to reflect on what's inside

While the quest was long and trying

And you've spent plenty of time crying

You must admit that now something's gone

And yet, you find, you can still move on

You return to the world you left behind

Not so long ago without, but on the inside

It's been an eternity and yet you see

That happiness, for you, is not out of reach

But for Frodo, your eternal companion and friend

The journey has not yet found its end

He must leave you to go to the Elves

But you, he says, must stay by yourself

Do not weep, there is no cause

For sorrow, though you may pause

Occasionally every day of your new life

To recall events long-passed, forever free of strife.


	2. Response to Reviews

Hey, I just thought I'd tack this chapter on to the poem so I can let my lovely reviewers know how much I appreciate their taking time to R&R to it! Thanks a million, guys, it's reviews that keep me going (and, like I said, I like getting good reviews, bad reviews, and anything in between).

**Vass**: Thanks for bringing that up. I just realized that I didn't explain what I meant by "Scottish" Ballad. In my Brit Lit class, we studied a few Scottish ballads (I feel horrible; I can't recall their names off the top of my head, but they were on the page after "The Seafarer" in our book) and then, when semester came around we had a choice of what sort of final project we could do, and one of the options was to write a ballad (we labeled it "Scottish" because that's what the ones we'd read had been) using the same structure as the poems we'd read in class, on whatever subject matter we wanted. As to what we studied in the class, we read a lot of literature written by folks from the British Isles (Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Le Morte D'Arthur, Macbeth, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, etc.), as well as studying the origins of the English language (from its Latin, Saxon, French, and Welsh roots) as well as a lot of the social structure of England throughout the years. My teacher was crazy about anything to do with the British Isles (particularly during the Medieval period), so we learned whatever he felt like teaching. The class was a bunch of fun, kind of a mixture of British Literature and history. Thanks for the review!

**Patty**: I'm glad that you liked it! My teacher did actually give us full credit, even though when we read it aloud for the class, it was supposed to have been memorized. We got lucky because, as it turns out, Sam is his favorite Lord of the Rings character. In his words, "Frodo is a wuss," and he thinks that Sam is highly underestimated by many fans, since he was the real reason why Frodo actually made it to mount doom. As to whether it generated any curiosity in my class, I doubt it. This was written about a month after the Return of the King movie came out in 2003, and everybody in the class knew me as one of those weird girls who likes Star Wars and Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings even though she's "pretty enough to have a life" (not kidding, that's been said about me, to my face, by the kind of girls you saw on Mean Girls). I, on the other hand, am very glad that Lord of the Rings became popular enough during my ninth grade year that I worked up the curiosity to go and buy the books in preparation for the new movies. I was blown away by The Hobbit, and again by Rings, so I do enjoy getting lost for hours on end in Tolkien's books (I'm trying to read the Silmarillion now). Thanks for your kind review, and I hope to see you around FFN!

**G**: Thanks for your kind words! You didn't give me much to respond to, but I'm glad that you enjoyed the "chorus" of the poem (it was kind of tough to come up with four lines that could reflect Sam's character for his entire journey, but after much deliberation I came up with what's there, and I rather like it!). I rather liked that I could give Sam a little tip-of-the-hat (especially after Sean Astin's performance—wow!) and I'm really glad that you liked it too! Thanks for the review, and maybe I'll see you around!


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